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'8 Mile' (2002)
In Eminem's overlooked, stunning portrayal of himself, he cemented his role as the most important man in hip-hop ... for a little while. The more popular his stock, the more cerebral his work, the more confrontational he got, the more Em rejected the spotlight. His apex of relevance culminated with his silver screen debut.
As 50 Cent, Em's colleague and collaborater, showed three years later with the horrendous "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," it's not particulary easy to make a worthwhile cinematic autobiographical experience of your exploited and romanticized urban youth. "8 Mile" became a flagship - a genuine, surprisingly well-acted and received period piece that prominent rappers dubiously referenced and mirrored. "I'll make you shoot yourself like Chedder Bob" and "I'm up here battling Eric Sermon - the generic version" soon became every hack battle emcee's bread and butter haymakers.
The film's best moments - authentic and bleak interactions between its bored protagonists (listening to Biggie, shooting paintball guns at cop cars) - wondrously harnessed the positive effects perpetual, societal boredom had on the pre-MySpace generation.
And wasn't Kim Basinger in "8 Mile"? I mean, that has to cement its legitimacy.
- Ramon Ramirez
'SLC Punk!' (1980)
Everyone should be instantly sold on this movie's premise: a film about college-aged punks roaming around Salt Lake City in the '80s with both hilarious and tragic consequences. Yes, please.
Based around the two main characters Stevo and Bob, who passionately defend their beliefs of punk rock and anarchy while trying to get their own lives together, "SLC Punk!" chronicles not only their entertaining travails but also their vastly misunderstood and misrepresented music demographic. The punks of the film are always at odds with some other group, clarifying their "tribe" from other cliques (mods, neo-nazis, and new-wavers to name a few) and struggling to establish their own identity. You're either a punk or not; trying to be a punk without really adopting the beliefs shamefully brands you as a poser. Stevo hates posers.
The music and those who listen to it are constantly paralleled in this film. Punk rock is unabashedly loud, clear, vulgar and occasionally brutal, but it's also undeniably human to the core. The same is true with our heroes Stevo and Bob. Sure, the duo attends shows where violent fights break out hastily, acid is dropped readily and authority is denounced fiercely; they may fling the term "poser" around a little too liberally just to get into a brawl; but mixed in with all the anger and frustration, this film presents the humanity of a genre popularly deemed antisocial and destructive. Stevo rebels against becoming a successful and content lawyer like his father; Bob is so against "hard" drugs that he sticks solely to alcohol and cigarettes. They both have girl issues. They struggle with leaving their hometown. They're punks, but they're also normal people that have something to say just like everyone else.
- Travis Bauer
'Coal Miner's Daughter' (1980)
Bessie Smith paved the way for women in the realm of blues, as did Janis Joplin for female rockers, but it was Loretta Lynn who made a place for women within the country and western genre of music. In the 1980 film "Coal Miner's Daughter," Sissy Spacek delivers a powerful performance of the hard, yet joyful life of this Kentucky-born songstress. The unsure Spacek, who was handpicked to play the singer's role by Lynn herself, nearly passed it on to someone else. Fortunately, she remained and took home an Oscar for her dramatic portrayal as a result. At the young age of 13, Loretta Webb wed war veteran Mooney Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones) and, together, they moved to Washington state. By the age of 20, Loretta, now a mother of four, began singing in local honky tonks, allowing her musical talents to become noticeable.
Backed by Mooney, Loretta traveled from radio station to radio station throughout the south and was finally awarded a spot on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. Loretta endured many hardships within the biz, including the unexpected death of dear friend Patsy Cline (Beverly D'Angelo). Spacek captures Lynn's qualities accurately and realistically, especially her strength and determination, which adds richness to the already touching film.
- Michal Durham
'The Commitments' (1991)
Blue collar Dubliners set out against the odds to become an Irish Soul band. Their driving force? Not money or fame. Only love of the music and the want of something beautiful to enliven their otherwise mundane, working class existence.
Despite the seemingly anomalous plot of Black music in perhaps one of the whitest of possible settings, the unfolding story is far from cheesy and actually quite convincing. These Irish lads and lasses have every bit as much soul as Otis or Aretha, and their lovably eccentric characters will surely charm you.
Much like "The Blues Brothers" before it, "The Commitments" helped introduce a younger audience to R&B and features many memorable performances of favorites such as "Mustang Sally" and other American soul standards.
- Naomi Rougeau
'24 Hour Party People' (2002) "24 Hour Party People" is the mostly factual story of the Manchester music scene from 1977 to 1992, fueled by news personality and record executive Tony Wilson (played by British comedian Steve Coogan).
At the beginning of the movie, we see footage of the Sex Pistols' legendary show at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, a gig that would very directly influence the creation of bands such as Joy Division, the Smiths and Buzzcocks, among others.
Wilson and his friends, also in attendance at the concert, are inspired to create a new record label, Factory Records, which they called an "experiment in human nature." They then accept Joy Division as their first band and consequentially proceed to reshape the direction of music for decades to come.
The movie progresses through the punk and post-punk era into the newly developed rave culture, sustained by Factory Records' efforts and the perfect combination of sex, drugs and music. Eventually, Wilson and the entire scene begin spiraling violently out of control on a self-destructive rampage, and it seems only a matter of time before the whole thing explodes.
"Party People" documents the beginning of a movement that completely redefined the direction of modern music. The movie itself is an entertaining, clever look at a wild and catalytic time in popular culture and definitely belongs on the essential music movie list.
- John Meller
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